Windows software.

The weathersatellite program wsat is now also available for Windows. It is compiled using gcc-ming using GTK for Windows.

The source code is identical to the code for the Linux wsat program.

If using the parallelport to connect to the decoder wsat works under:

If using the USB port wsat works under:

Sources are available; see download section.

Download
Installation
Manual: wsat_man.zip (pdf) (Old!)
Manual: HTML (Updated 2010.01)
Back to weather satellite homepage


Short feature overview of version 2010.01:


Download.

VersionTypeDownloadDownload sizeSources availableComment
2010.01 wsat program setup_wsat.exe 458k
Added USB interface
2.0 Needed DLL-libs setup_gtk20dll.exe 2.6M

IMPORTANT NOTE:

From 2010 on wsat uses gtk2.0 libs. You need to download and run setup_gtk20dll.exe. Make sure that these dll's are installed in the same directory as wsat! By default it will be installed in a directory called xrit2pic.

If you already have xrit2pic:

  • Install wsat in the same directory (change defaults during installation) You don't need to install setup_gtk20dll.exe again.

    If you don't have xrit2pic:

  • Install wsat in its default directory ('wsat')
  • Install gtk20dll in the same directory as wsat
    For this wsat also a USB dll is needed: ftd2xx.dll. This is in setup_wsat. Make sure that it is placed in the same dir. as wsat!

    Old versions (use gtk1.2)
    VersionTypeDownloadDownload sizeSources availableComment
    2009.01 wsat program wsat.zip 115k
    Added ID for NOAA 19
    2005.05 wsat program wsat_2005.zip 115k wsat_src.zip (2005.05a)
    See also: GTK for Windows
    Added ID for NOAA18
    1.2 Needed DLL-libs gtkdll_inst.exe 1.4M

    Download: wsat_man.zip (125k, pdf)


    Installation

    wsat is now available as self-installing executable.
    • Download setup_wsat.exe
    • Download setup_gtk20dll.exe
    • Run setup_wsat.exe; follow instructions. (For default installation you only need to press 'Next' on each page.)
      • If the USB interface is needed make sure to select also ftd2xx for installation (on the "Slect Components" page).
    • Run setup_gtk20dll.exe and follow instructions.
    That's it. An icon will be available on your desktop.

    Important notes:

    • If the parallelport interface is needed you need Porttalk.
    • If USB port will be used make sure that you select "USB" in Preferences, page "Interface". Failing to do so may cause a crash of the program if one of the Record windows is opened, and porttalk isn't used.


    Installation old versions.

    • Download wsat.zip
    • Use winzip to unzip (old DOS-based zip can't handle the filenames of the dll-files)
    Now check if wsat runs. If wsat gives an error messages about missing libraries you need to download and install these libraries:
    gtkdll_inst.exe (1.4M)
    This is a self-installing executable. Be aware of the default installation directory, which is "C:\Program Files\xrit". This is because the same dll's are also used by xrit2pic. You may change the installation directory to your needs, but make sure that wsat is in the same directory, or install the DLL's in a directory to which a searchpath is present (e.g. c:\windows\system32). Changing directory can be done during the installation.

    The gtkdll_inst.exe contains:

    
    Archive:  gtkdll_inst.zip
     Length    Date    Time    Name
     ------    ----    ----    ----
     431313  12-25-00  23:56   gdk-1.3.dll
     360316  12-25-00  23:43   glib-1.3.dll
      19376  12-25-00  23:48   gmodule-1.3.dll
      28405  11-14-99  02:48   gnu-intl.dll
     183690  12-25-00  22:56   gobject-1.3.dll
      26483  12-14-00  22:17   gthread-1.3.dll
    1439618  12-15-00  21:54   gtk-1.3.dll
     747486  10-06-00  23:41   iconv-1.3.dll
     ------                    -------
    3236687                    8      
    
    

    NOTE:

    To make sure that data transfer from the parallel port is reliable (especially for a long time) make sure that:

    That's it!


    Bugs and work-arounds.

    Although the sources for the Linux and Windows program are the same the Windows version behaves a bit different compared to the Linux wsat. I had to change the sources on a few points to let Windows' Wsat 'work'.

    Parallelport access under Windows 2000 and XP only works using
    Porttalk, or if logged in as 'Administrator'. Up to now I have confirmation that Windows-XP works in combination with Porttalk' and that Windows-2000 works if logged in as 'Administrator'.

    'porttalk' is a driver making it possible to access the parallelport as normal user. Wsat has to be started as follows:

    if parallelport nr. 1 is used or: if parallelport nr. 2 is used.
    In future releases this functionality will be built in into wsat.

    Test version.

    This is a test version of wsat.exe. It can be changed any time without notice and can show unexpected behaviour. For normal use download this version!

    VersionTypeDownloadDownload sizeComment
    2010.beta wsat program gtk2.0 wsat_beta.zip 133k Meteor reader (data MUST start with sync word '1a cf fc 1d').
    2010.beta wsat program gtk1.3 wsat1_beta.zip 130k Meteor reader (data MUST start with sync word '1a cf fc 1d').